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A total of 22 bills prepared at Stormont are now being prepared to be enacted at Westminster through Orders in Council. Paul Murphy: “I freely acknowledge that the Order in Council process at Westminster is not as satisfactory as scrutiny of legislation in the Assembly. It is, however, a regrettable necessity and highlights once again the importance of restoring the devolved institutions.” Slugger O'TooleA general account used for the daily threads and other things.

Prison Officers in NI are to take a mass action in protest against the lack of government help with re-location costs after a comprehensive list of officers’ names and addresses were discovered in a security sweep in October. Slugger O'TooleA general account used for the daily threads and other things.

Gerry Adams flashed up a key note before heading into interparty talks suggesting that the IRA would not be forced into any response. He outlined his priorities for the discussions: “This week’s discussions must address the failure of Mr Blair`s Government to implement its commitments under the Agreement as acknowledged by him in his recent Belfast speech.” Slugger O'TooleA general account used for the daily threads and other things.

It seems that no one individual can inspire comment and debate to the extent that David Trimble can. The Newsletter calls for a wider debate, suggesting: “Opinion-shapers in the Republic and nationalists in Northern Ireland have, so far, been restrained in their reaction: their focus is on how the Stormont institutions might be restored, and they will not allow what appears to them as a party-political side-issue to generate a row with the Ulster Unionist leader.” “That is, perhaps, a …

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For those readers joining us for the first time here’s couple of briefing resources: a list of major events; and an entry in World Info. For highlights of the Letter to Slugger O’Toole itself, just hit the links in the highlights section in right hand column. Slugger O'TooleA general account used for the daily threads and other things.

Jeffrey Dudgeon speculates in his latest book, Roger Casement: the black diaries to be launched on Thursday, that Ian Flemming based his character Q on Ulsterman Major Frank Hall. Hall became Military Secretary of the paramilitary Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) formed to resist Home Rule for Ireland in 1912. Gudgeon’s main premise seems to be based around the fact Hall went under the codename Q when he became chief of MI5 in Belfast two years later. Update: According to reader …

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Did you hear about the boy from Armagh, who went on to be a professor at Princeton and Oxford? Muldoon talks poetry with Dinittia Smith. However not all such poetic sons of Ulster are so well favoured by academia. Update: Paulin’s year, 2002. Slugger O'TooleA general account used for the daily threads and other things.

In a recent issue of Ha’aritz, David Trimble gave an extensive interview to Sharon Sadeh. He began by making the political case for the process, and then quantifying some of the gains of the transition from war to peace. He admitted his own mixed feelings about dealing with his former enemies. Identifying two issues yet to be resolved, he explained why these were crucial to moving the next stage. After giving his appraisal of Clinton’s role in the process, he …

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In the Ha’aritz article, Trimble is perhaps at his most interesting on ideological change; it is mostly confined to a Unionist perspective on the journey Republicans have made. It stands in marked contrast to the blunt nature of his recent remarks to the Chicago Sun that have dominated the headlines of the last few days. “Among Northern Irish nationalists, there were two main streams, the militants in the IRA and the moderates in the SDLP. South of the border, the …

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The Blanket reprints the text of Bernadette McAliskey’s speech last month, which touches on the changes in the Republican movement, and Sinn Fein in particular, from the point of view of anti-agreement Republican. She sums up the reasons for the process: “Those things only came to an end when the British government had another agenda. Not because anybody changed their mind, not because the fundamental conditions of this country had changed, not because the needs or principles of the struggle …

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Johnny Adair, or more precisely his close advisor John White, is talking about resurrecting the UDP, formerly the poltical wing of the UDA. Slugger O'TooleA general account used for the daily threads and other things.

In his Ha’aretz interview, Trimble describes his thinking on the presidencies of Clinton, and hints at the future with Bush: “Trimble goes on to say that the only leverage Clinton had was on the nationalists, because they depended on support and aid from Irish Americans. ‘So while Clinton’s supporters point to his decision to grant a visa to Gerry Adams in 1994 as being a significant action, the only leverage he had was refusing visas to Irish republicans. And he …

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The negative reaction to David Trimble’s remarks on the Irish Republic continues. Rosie Cowan reports on a broad sweep of nationalist reaction. In its editorial the Irish News echoed Trimble’s own remarks to his leading dissident Jeffrey Donaldson, when it cautioned Mr Trimble to bridle his tongue. The Examiner today warned in it’s comment: “His reference to the Union Jack being trampled on the floor reflects the language of backwoods loyalism. It is music to the ears of extreme nationalists …

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Here’s a review of a new book on the condition of the protestant minority in the Republic. Slugger O'TooleA general account used for the daily threads and other things.

Richard Haass is back to meet various players, some of them like Paul Murphy newly in post since his last visit, to discuss developments in the process. Slugger O'TooleA general account used for the daily threads and other things.

He talks about decommissioning and policing in relation to the Belfast Agreement: “‘There was a deliberate decision not to try and resolve policing and weapons decommissioning in the peace talks themselves,’ he says. ‘If we had attempted to solve these issues during the talks, the chances that we would have an agreement were practically nonexistent. We’ve had a difficult decision to make, because it was pretty clear from the text that while there was commitment for decommissioning, the link between …

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There has been some controversy over a recent biography of former LVF leader, Billy Wright. The Down Democrat has a useful review of the book itself. Slugger O'TooleA general account used for the daily threads and other things.

Trimble is believed by some to be ‘inwardly conflicted’, with his personal feelings diverging drastically from his pragmatic approach to ‘achieving the possible’ within the currently split body politic of Northern Ireland. In the Ha’aretz piece he articulates some of this ‘conflict’: “It is an embarrassment that we have to deal with the likes of Gerry Adams [president of Sinn Fein] at the moment, but we are not going to be able to get past him. We have to deal …

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At this stage it is words rather than actions. Johnny Adair and his close colleague John White, defend themselves against that accusation that the organisation had made much progress since their departure. Slugger O'TooleA general account used for the daily threads and other things.

But apparently none of the rest of his attack on the Republic of Ireland at a meeting of the UUC last March. In fact he’s gone one better: “If you took away Catholicism and anti-Britishness, the state [Republic of Ireland] doesn`t have a reason to exist” Though many took great affront at the original remark, it also had some humorous spin-offs: here and here. Update: Local reaction to the renewed insult. Slugger O'TooleA general account used for the daily threads …

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